Ok, I have one major issue with Conor Oberst and it’s the same issue I have with Ryan Adams. It’s also probably something that though it bothers me slightly I shouldn’t complain as a fan of their music. Basically, it’s my opinion that the level of output by both artists is so great that it really does stop them releasing classic albums. Their albums are always good with a number of classic songs but because they fire them out in quick succession I never think they manage to produce an album which captures me from start to finish – Ryan Adams and The Cardinals Cold Roses Disc 1 perhaps being an exception. Basically, this is a really solid album, it’s got loads of good tunes on it and is really enjoyable to listen to for sure. However, it can’t even be a year since he released his first solo effort. Like Adams, I reckon if he took a little more time between releasing albums and put together his strongest songs off the last 2 or 3 then he’d have a far stronger album than this. But it is good. Like Adam it’s always good. It’s just not classic. Not that I am really complaining, it’s more an observation than a complaint because I fucking love Bright Eyes and I fucking love Ryan Adams so the more they put out, the more I consume by them the happier I will be. It’s an observation more about what they could be considered as as an artist. But as a fan I will accept more albums like is every week if he’s got them up his sleeve. Lets hope so.

TSP Grade = C

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4 thoughts on “Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band – Outer South”

I couldn’t agree more. A Bright Eyes “best of” would easily be my favouritest record ever but, as it is, all his truly great songs are swamped by the better-than-most-but-not-quite-so-amazing ones. That said, both “Lifted” and “Fevers…” are pretty darn close to perfect, and Adams’ “Gold” gets an awful lot of plays on the home stereo too…

Yeah, Gold is pretty amazing and I think Heartbreaker was too, but then he went crazy and started releasing an album a week!! (though Love Is Hell Parts 1 & 2 are also pretty near perfect) Don’t get me wrong, I think they are both brilliant artists and am more than happy to accept as much music as they throw at me. It was purely from an “imagine how good their records would be if they took longer inbetween releases and put more of the great songs together”, almost a critics perspective rather than just a fans….a best of either of those artists would be magic.

Shamefully this is the first time i’ve read your blog…though heard a few others mention it before by all means. So far i seem agree with your tastes & opinions in almost every way! As much as i LOVE bright eyes and would probably consider Oberst my favourite songwriter, there’s only a couple of his (15+) albums that i love beginning to end. Though likewise, i would probably rather have the quantity than quality!